An optical reader capable of reading a bar code in a mounted state when an article carrying the bar code passes and of reading bar/codes set in array on a menu sheet in a hand-held state has been disclosed. The optical reader comprises a light source, a scanner that is driven by a drive and scans light emanating from the light source, a plurality of reflection mirrors that reflect scanning light scanned by the scanner and create a scanning pattern composed of a plurality of scan trajectories, a read window through which scanning light reflected from the reflection mirrors is emitted, and a light receiver for receiving light reflected from a mark. The optical reader further comprises a mode changer for changing a plurality of operation modes among which one or ones of the plurality of scan trajectories to be validated for reading are different. The operation modes include a specific scanning ray mode in which reading the mark by tracing only a given scan trajectory constituting the scanning pattern is validated but reading the mark by tracing the other scan trajectories is invalidated. For reading any of bar codes set in array on a menu sheet, the given scan trajectory constituting the scanning pattern will be drawn on a bar code to be read. Since reading by tracing the other scan trajectories is invalid, only the bar code to be read is read.